NUTRIENT AVAILABILITY AND SUPPLEMENTATION OF AREA SPECIFIC MINERAL S AND VITAMINS ON THE PERFORMANCE OF CROSSBRED COWS IN BARGARH DISTRICT OF ODISHA

To assess the availability of nutrients and the effect of area specific mineral mixture supplementation along with vitamins on growth and serum mineral profile, thirty crossbred cows were randomly divided into three equal groups. Group T0 served as control, the animals here were maintained as per the traditional practices of the farmer without any nutritional intervention, whereas in T1 group animals were supplemented with area specific mineral mixture @ 50 g per day per animal, and in T2 group along with area specific mineral mixture, 5 ml of fat soluble vitamins containing Vit. A, Vit. D3 , Vit. E was injected to each animal at 0 day and 7th day of the experiment. This experiment was continued for 60 days, during which initial and final bodyweight was recorded. Blood samples were collected at 0 day and 60 days to assess the serum mineral concentrations. There was significant (P<0.05) increase in the serum mineral concentration (calcium, phosphorous, zinc, manganese and copper) of the treatment groups than the control. However, the average daily gain (g) of the treatment groups did not differ significantly (P>0.05) from the control group. The results suggest that supplementation of area specific mineral mixture alone or along with vitamins may enhance the serum minerals concentration without affecting body weight gain of crossbred cows.